Iowa State will host its first and only cross-country meet, the Iowa Intercollegiate, on Saturday at the ISU cross-country course located on the corner of Hayward Avenue and Mortensen Road.

Competitors in the race will include colleges in all divisions from all over Iowa. Coach Corey Ihmels expects about 10 to 12 teams to attend.

The Cyclone runners will be treating this event as more of a workout than a race in order to prepare for their first big race of the season on Sept. 24 at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis.

“I’m going to have set paces for them to run,” Ihmels said. “We’re going to control it a little bit, see how much self-control our athletes have.”

Every runner for Iowa State will compete in the race, but freshmen will compete unattached in case they decide to redshirt their first season.

This race will be a decider for many of the freshmen as to whether or not they will compete as a redshirt, but Ihmels said it would not be the only deciding factor.

“After Saturday we’ll know whether or not I’m going to redshirt for the whole season,” said freshman Steve Dado. “If I finish in the top seven, then I’ll probably not redshirt.”

Members of the team who competed at the Drake Bulldog Classic on Sept. 2 already have a feel for what it’s like to compete against other Iowa teams.

“It gave us a lot of confidence going into other meets that we’re in really good shape and really ready to take on some tough teams,” said redshirt freshman Madeline Becker.

Becker, a Cedar Rapids native, placed fourth at the 4,000-meter Drake Invite with a time of 15:21.99. She had a time of 19:10.73 at last year’s Iowa Intercollegiate meet while competing unattached.

The Cyclones are finishing up their fifth week of practice and some are feeling focused and healthy.

“All my workouts have gone well, and I’m staying injury-free,” Dado said. “That was my goal at the beginning of the year: stay healthy all year.”

Becker experienced an injury to her left leg over the summer after overworking it. With the help of team trainers and smart workouts, Becker’s leg is at 100 percent again.

“It hasn’t hurt for two weeks,” Becker said.

The Iowa Intercollegiate meet is open to anyone who wishes to compete, but the coaches ask that those interested please email assistant coach Travis Hartke first.

The women will begin their 5,000-meter race at noon, while the men will run an 8,000-meter race around 12:30 p.m.